Catherine Frot, who may not be recognizable to American audiences but who has an illustrious career in France, plays Marguerite, a middle-aged, lovelorn baroness who possesses all the faculties for enjoying music and none of the
As Marguerite struggles to regain her husband’s attentions, those calls grow louder. It’s no wonder one of the film’s 11 César nominations was for its sound design, as the combination of the bird, the off-key singing and the incessant and imperfect crackle of a phonograph wraps every gauzy picture with a reminder that what is beautiful is often flawed.
The film often attempts to mimic the composition of an oil painting. Crushed blacks abound, with accents of Prussian blue and a muted red creating a textured look, where the edges seem to dissolve into a black velvet curtain, all of it framing Marguerite and the motley crew of characters who come to love and support her. Their dialogue is filled with deliberate, telling lines, and director Xavier Giannoli allows these characters to develop in small but surprising ways, which at first seems like a mistake, taking the spotlight off of
Marguerite is a film for those sour enough to enjoy schadenfreude but with enough conscience to prefer it not be too tragic — and even a little charming.